Get hooked on beat, not her look, DJ says

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

DJ Rap, who has appeared on billboards for Calvin Klein Jeans, says she's grateful for the attention her feminine beauty gets her, but "it makes no difference in the selection of what I play." Danny Clinch DJ Rap 10 p.m.-4 a.m. Saturday Maze Nightclub $5-$15 591-3500, 921-5800

But DJ Rap (aka globally raised Charissa Saverio) still takes cheeky glee in crediting a couple of God-given, attention-getting accouterments with assisting her steady career momentum in an industry still domi-ÊÊnated by males.

"They're called breasts," Rap suggested to an entertainment scribe earlier this year. "They are definitely something that the males don't have and I do."

Rap later waxed a bit more seriously on the DJ gender issue and her model-ready looks (she's commanded billboards and ads for Calvin Klein Jeans).

"I think people need to get over it. I don't make a big deal about it. I'm grateful for any attention (being female) gets me, but at the end of the day, it makes no difference in the selection of what I play."

Easy on the eyes, but more importantly wildly talented behind two turntables and a microphone, DJ Rap will be spinning at Maze Nightclub Saturday night. The set is sure to include Rap's signature drum-n-bass and hard-core leanings, perhaps occasionally infused with the elements of house and trance she's enjoyed in new artists signed to her own indie label, Proper Talent.

The stepdaughter of a luxury hotel manager and already well-traveled by her teen years in England, Rap was first drawn to the turntables as a rave-scene club kid. She started her career learning production and mixing before gaining DJ notoriety at British clubs such as Fantasy and Astoria.

Rap was dabbling famously in all three fields when she was signed to Sony imprint Higher Ground in 1997. "Learning Curve," her 1999 artist debut, sold an impressive 70,000 units largely by sacrificing much of Rap's drum-n-bass roots for solid electronic dance pop. Having recently parted ways with Sony, a follow-up to "Learning Curve" is expected some time this year, once again with a pop-leaning sound.

"I own a cool label, I make cool music, but cool doesn't pay the bills," Rap told URB magazine last year. "I'm happy to make a pop record, as long as I like it. ... I don't want to play to 10 people, I want to play to thousands."